Yamamoto's voice gradually faded behind him.
Yoriichi stood in the First Division's ruined courtyard, silent for a moment.
He could hear division members moving rubble in the distance.
He could also hear orders being rapidly recorded inside the temporary meeting hall, then delivered to the other divisions by messengers.
Seireitei had yet to recover from the attack.
But the entire Gotei 13 had already begun functioning again.
This was Soul Society on the eve of war.
No one would wait for their wounds to heal.
Yoriichi withdrew his gaze and looked down at the pass in his hand.
It was an entry permit Yamamoto had personally approved.
The Great Spirit Book Gallery was not somewhere an ordinary captain could enter whenever they pleased.
It held vast quantities of confidential records spanning Soul Society's history.
Some of its contents were beyond even a captain's clearance.
Since Yamamoto had told him to look, it meant the Captain-Commander had tacitly acknowledged his right to access certain things that had been hidden away.
Yoriichi tucked the pass inside his robes.
The next moment, the Reiatsu beneath his feet stirred slightly.
Nisshun.
A crimson streak flashed across the ruined street.
The Great Spirit Book Gallery lay in the deepest part of Seireitei.
There were no traces of battle here.
Towering white walls shut out the chaos beyond, and smooth stone steps led to the entrance, flanked by guards dressed in noble attire.
They did not belong to the Gotei 13.
Yoriichi stopped before the steps.
He looked up ahead.
The heavy gates were tightly shut, their surfaces carved with intricate patterns resembling some ancient seal.
As he scanned them with the Transparent World, Yoriichi could see Reishi flowing slowly through those patterns.
This was no ordinary Barrier.
It was a seal formed from multiple